Facebook ‘unliked’
How to hurt a tech giant
POWER has a way of blinding the powerful. Even a social media giant. Expectedly, Facebook, which is facing #StopHateForProfit boycott, is not troubled at all. In this latest of the “unlike” Facebook campaign, advertisers have called on the tech giant to stop publishing hate speech or face a boycott. In the estimate of The Economist, more than 600 firms, including big names such as Pfizer, Starbucks and Unilever, have pulled ads from the platform. But the ads from the boycotters do not subtract much from Facebook’s ad business of US$70 billion. And Facebook knows this only too well. It also knows that it has close to three billion users, more than the population of China and India put together. Little wonder, Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg thinks the boycotters will be back soon.
Hubris is not unlike a Freudian slip. It shows up unexpectedly. According to tech news portal The Information, Zuckerberg made clear his reluctance to give in to the #StopHateForProfit campaign in a video town hall last week, even quoting private remarks made to his staff thus: “My guess is that all these advertisers will be back on the platform soon enough.” He may be terribly wrong. There are at least four reasons why they may not return without a change in hate speech policy. First, the world is fresh out of George Floyd global anti-racism protests. And protests are bringing in the desired results. Look how even the United States authorities are giving in to the demands of the protesters. If governments can be forced to surrender, companies can be, too. Even if they are giants. Second, of the close to three billion Facebook users, many are ready to give the platform a thumbs down. Zuckerberg can’t dismiss this group too readily. Like the organisers of the #StopHateForProfit campaign, many of Facebook’s users are young and principled, meaning they despise hate in any form. And, ominously for Facebook, they are ready, able and willing. All they need is some organising. If the boycotters reach them, Facebook may just be defaced. Never underestimate a boycott whose time has come. Third, Zuckerberg must know Facebook isn’t the only platform for advertisers. There are many others, though with smaller impact. Plus, the good old print is there to offer the advertisers value for money. Finally, Facebook is making too many enemies. Media companies, including American ones, and governments around the world are on the growing list of entities and institutions that have “unliked” Facebook. Media companies are disturbed because Facebook mines their news for profit, and yet, refuses to share the revenue with them. Realising that united they can take on Facebook, media companies are lobbying their governments to come down hard on the recalcitrant tech giant. Europe is up in arms. Australia, after having tried cajoling Facebook and failed, is about to legislate Zuckerberg’s reluctance away. Asian governments are not so organised. They should take a leaf from the Australians’ book. A French leaf is even better. There, the platforms are taxed for the revenue earned. But what is not clear is how the money collected from the digital platforms will reach the coffers of the media companies, whose products the former have used to earn their ad revenues. This notwithstanding, if media companies work as one global force, they can be formidable even for one as big and powerful as Facebook.
If governments can be forced to surrender, companies can be, too. Even if they are giants.